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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪d ♪ >> thank you . >> stephanie: 45 minutes after the hour. we'll be back as we close "the stephanie miller show." >> on "the stephanie miller show" in suburban america this [ ♪ theme music ♪ ]

radio meets television the bill press show now on current tv. >> it even fetal the internet. david shuster in for bill press. we have the chat going in current.com/bpshow. your calls 1866-55-7377. oh, man, so mitt romney's demanding an e pol gee from president obama. i think mitt romney needs to apologize to rick santorum and newt gingrich and everyone else he trashed if he doesn't like negative advertisements, maybe he should look in the mirror. mason from kentucky you are on the bill press show. >> good, welcome. i was wondering if he would like

an apology, why wouldn't he agree the g.o.p. leads to line up and pay polgize to the -- apologize for ber rating him and the entire democratic party for their bsating him and the entire democratic party for their bs. >> remember mitch mcconnell said early on back right after he was inaugurated, the sole goal of the republican party was to defeat him, not to get anything done, get anything done to help the united states to help the american people. it was to deny president obama a second term politically. that was entire goal. >> that's all the republicans have cared about, all mitch mcconnell has cared about. politics is not bean bag. the olympics is a rough business. democrats i think ought to be thrilled president obama and his campaign are fighting it out as tough as they are. there are some democrats ed

randel, and some democrats are saying he shouldn't be so negative on bain. he shouldn't be no negative on mitt romney. he should talk more about his own record of achievement. president obama needs to define mitt romney. if mitt romney is gone going to run on his business persons and everything he did at bain capital is fair game. if he wants to deny i was there at bain capital while you have these documents that were filed with the securities and exchange commission, in which mitt romney's signature is on the documents as ceo of bain as late as 2002. he wants to deny he had anything to do with it? well, what does that say about his character? donald from aurora, illinois, you are on the bill press show. good morning. >> good morning. you know what really kills me is mitt romney says nent things about obama, too. i was watching ed schultz. didn't they say before all of this stuff took place, did he not admit that he was the president, he was the ceo, vice

president, he was chairman of the board, he was all of these things things, all the way to 2002? that was a fath. i don't understand why the media didn't bring that out about him. >> mitt romney lost this argument because mitt romney is now in no position. he made the decision he wants to deny having anything to do with bain capital in 200, 2001, 2002 rather than as some republicans have argued say, look stands up for bain. >> you were in charge. stand up for it and deny bain was involved in outsourcing, whatever it is you want to claim, even though the record shows that no, it was. at least then you create in the political world a dynamic of the president's campaign says one thing. romney's campaign says another. the other is sort of left with what do we believe? by mitt romney wanting to deny at bain, that argument about what bain did is off of the table. now, it's sort of conventional wisdom reaffirmed because mitt romney sees a stink factor doesn't want to be associated

with bain from 2000 to 2002. now, it's an accepted fact that bain boast bought companies and scaled them down or moved the jobs overseas. now, the only question was: was mitt romney involved or not? he is trying to hide on this island by saying, no, i was riding the olympics. good grief. kevin from chicago, you are on the bill press show. good morning. >> good morning, david. how are you doing? >> good. >> look at it this way. first, on the apology thing, he is a big weak suck on that. look at the tax returns. he gave mccain 23 years, obviously mccain is not saying anything. it was enough he ended up choosing sarah palin which was the worst political mistake mccain made. on the tax returns, why they would answer the questions that's what they would do. they would answer the questions and show this guy to be some uber wealthy businessman who was involved in outsourcing jobs and

that would be it. it would be cut and dried. if it would exxon rate him, they would have them out already. >> kevin, that's a great point and one i heard from one of my republican friends he said, look. if mitt romney was handling this well politically, he would release the tax returns and say, i was the just doing what other americans were doing and then i was out pressing my advantage, using every tax loophole but because i know those better than anything, we are going to change the tax code because i should not be able to get a 15% marginal rate when most americans are at 28 or 33. by the way, even though, yes, i was investing in switzerland and parked money in the bahamas, we need to close those loopholes as well because folks like me shouldn't be able to take advantage of that stuff when most americans cannot. if mitt romney just came out and admitted it and said yeah, i did all of this stuff but because i did it, i am embarrassed about it. it's shameful we have been able to have the system corrupted for

the last years and i am going to change it. if he came out that way, my republican friend says and i agree, he would get some credibility because he would be acknowledging the truth and he would say, we need to fix this. instead, he is trying to run away from it and it's not helping him. he is digging a hole deeper and deeper. by the way, speaking of digging a hole deeper, wait until on the other side of this break coming up in the next half hour we will play for you mitt romney's comments when he was asked about the olymif i can uniforms. mitt romney is trying to play it safe. he doesn't want to offer an opinion about whether the olympic uniforms should be made in china. even ralph lauren made a decision that it was a mistake. mitt romney is playing it safe. democrats ought to be drilledthrilled. more with the bill press show after this.

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at 8. >>transparency is good in government. the more we know the better. >>the war room with jennifer granholm at 9. >>i think that's smart politics. (vo) and there's only one place you'll find us: [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> on your radio, and on current tv, this is the bill press show. >> david shuster sitting in this morning. we are talking about how mitt romney is playing it exceptionally safe across the board. how that's great news for democrats. the controversy involving ralph lauren and those olympic uniforms, the outfits that have said all of the 570 athletes will march into the opening ceremonies in london friday now they have to wear this outfit made by ralph lauren which

ralph lauren admits they are made in china and says that was mistake. starting in 2014, we will make sure all of the outfits are made in the united states. mitt romney was asked: what's your opinion about the controversy involving the outfits of our olympic athletes. here is what he said. >> i am not to get into the uniform matters. there are big matters, the security of the games, readiness of our athletes. these are the things i am going to focus on. >> why can't you focus on whether things should be made in the america? >> nuts. i mean, it wasn't a difficult question. you could have said, yes these outfits should be made in the united states and i wish ralph lauren had done that. man, but he doesn't want to take a position on so many things. i wonder if that's why he is playing it so safe with his tax returns. let's ask washington post reporter aaron blake. find his work in the fix column and on twitter at @fix aaron.

aaron, welcome to the program this morning. >> thank you for having me. >> you are welcome. mitt romney's tax returns, any indication that the campaign has been listening to the george wills and bill crystals and everybody else saying release the returns? >> i don't know that we have seen that yet. it's only been a few hours yet. but the george will clip from yesterday is one that i think democrats are going to be playing pretty frequently in the coming hours here and the coming days because, you know, george will basically said that mitt romney, by not releasing these tax returns is showing that he has something to hide. once conservatives like will and alabama governor robert bentley criticized romney for not releasing tax returns. when they talk about it, it will be more difficult for romney to not release tax returns and, you know, we have already been down this road once and romney's campaign had top release some of the tax returns.

it's becoming a more tenuous situation for him. >> what's behind the algorithim the romney campaign is using? i can't imagine anything in the 22 years of tax returns would show that he is a tax sheetcheat. they would simply show maybe hez has money parked overseas and paying less than a 15% marginal rate because where most of his money comes from and as embarrassing as that would be, once he gets it out there he can then move on. >> he's already being attacked for all of that stuff, you know he is already the rich guy. he is already the guy who had money in the cayman islands and bermuda and wherever else. so, i guess maybe we will find out that he is even more rish at one point than we thought he was before. i am not sure. we don't know what could be in there. the fact that he is not releasing them and democrats

have something here hey, when you were considering -- when the mccain campaign was considering putting you on the ticket, you released 23 years worth of your tax returns so, you know clearly this isn't too difficult of a thing for you to do. why can't you do the same for us? and i think that that's a valid criticism and something we are going to be hearing from here on out. >> does this cotroversy over the tax returns and time at bain capital and discrepancy see about what he says and what the i see disclosure forms show he was ceo through 2002, does this put more pressure on the romney campaign to change the subject in a big way by moving up their vice presidential announcement? >> yeah. you know, i think that they would like to do that. i don't know a month and a half before the convention is a good time to be doing it. i don't know if they are ready to be doing that at this point. if anything, if four years ago showed us anything, it's that you want to be pretty certain

about your vice presidential pick. this is a pretty major decision for a campaign to be making. so i doubt they have a vice president that's vetted and someone they could roll out when they want to change the subject. i am sure there are plenty of moments between now and the republican national convention where they will want to put out a story like that. so i wouldn't necessarily expect it to come eminently here. >> condo leaseleeza rice may make up for gaps and she could bring him some foreign policy experience downsiding she has been about policy, not politics and she said she is not interested in

the job. what's the chances, though, that the romney campaign is able to convince here? >> i would say condi rice being mitt romney's vice president is about as liable as sara palin being mitt romney's vice president. it's a nice thought, you know, there is all of these trial balloons all the time with vice presidential picks, but condoleeza rice, there is some thought that the she may or may not have voted for barack obama in 2008. she may or may not be considered -- you she had saw the pro life movement considers her to be pro-choice. they are not going to have it if, in fact, she were the choice. so i just don't know of a way in which romney could make that pick and have it be palatable to his base. i think if, in fact, he did pick her, it would probably be a similar situation to what mccain did in '08 where, you know,

basically, this is kind of a hail mary. they feel like they are going to lose and they need to try something. i don't see it happening with her. it's a good story and a fun talking about on the sunday talk shows. >> i don't see condoleeza rice being convinced. after you have been secretary of state, travel all around the world, that's a much better job than the job of vice president where you are having to do a lot of political fund raisending and going to the chicken dinners and the jeffersonian dinners across the united states and check in daily on the president's health. that's your primarily responsibility. other than being in line to succeed the president, you know, i think after condoleeza has been secretary of state, why would she want the job? >> yeah, the thought around washington is that the job she really wants is to be the commissioner of the nfl. she has gotten more politically

involved in recent weeks and that's part of the reason this rumor is being fed a little bit. having your name out there for the vice presidential sweep attacks or the veepstakes is not hurting anybody. she is increasing her name id right now. people are getting to know her a little bit, and so there is no real downside to being a part of this dialogue. i just don't know anything that's really taking her seriously as a potential vice presidential candidate. like you said, she has shown basically no interest in the job. >> one person who simooms seems to be taken quite seriously by the romney campaign is rob portman, former member of congress. he also served in the bush administration. what would rob portman give the romney ticket? >> he gives them a lot. i think that, you know he is probably the favorite for the job as far as a lot of, you know, political insideters and washington people are concerned.

he's got a lot of different experiences. he was a u.s. trade representative. he was a congressman. he is now a senator from a swing state considered a very serious policy guys. he knows the economy he has worked on it before. he has foreign policy jobs having worked in congress for as long as he has. i think there was a little bit of concern he is too much of a washington insider, that he is not all that exciting but i think that -- you were talking being this before i got on the phone, you know, the romney campaign has shown itself to be pretty risk-averse and i think that if there is a risk-averse pick out there his name is probably rob portman. so if they go that route, then i think we will know they didn't want to take any chances. they went with the safe pick and i think that he is very much along those lines. >> what do you think of the divide on the democratic side

about romney's handling of bain? there is still chatter among mark pann and stan greenberg and ed rajsdz, all sort of former clinton supporters. saying they shouldn't be focusing on bain. the president should instead focus on some of his accomplishments. there is the obama campaign sort of laughing off these clinton advisors and saying, no, we are going to run campaign our way and we figured out what is going to beat mitt romney? >> i am not sure the obama campaign pays that element of the naert much mind. i think, you know people like cory butler saying something is one thing. having people from the clinton camp say that, ed randall has spent a lot of time saying things that aren't necessarily terrible helpful to the obama campaign. i also think that, you know, while that element of the party kind of won the day when the

obama campaign first started attacking mitt romney on bain, they have had much more success with that strategy over the last few days here for sure so i don't know that they would be listening to that element especially now when it looks like they are getting traction versus before when it looked like it was a strategy that wasn't necessarily working. as long as its paying dividends, i think that, you know people like mark penn and ed randall aren't voices that the spams campaign is paying much mined to. >> i have an idea mark penn is someone a lot of democrats aren't paying much attention to. >> thank you. >> 1866537377. your calls on the other side of this break. you are watching and listening to the bill press show. >> heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the bill press show.

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nice to talk to you. [ applause ] >> when someone stumbles across the show, it usually doesn't end well. >> stephanie: it ended better do. all right. just a truce. all right. 45 minutes -- it was a wash. 45 minutes after the hour. right back on "the stephanie miller show."

[ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> this is the bill press show live on your radio and current tv. >> david shuster here in washington, d.c., along with the whole game peter and dan and -- what am i looking at here? anyway, so let's get to your calls because i appreciate greg and allen and everybody else who has been hanging on the line and a special how theout to monte who is manning cyprian's position today. >> yes, indeed monte welcome aboard, greg from boca raton,

florida, you are on the bill press show. >> how are you doing, david? >> good. thank you. >> you know, it's funny i have some friends that are like really, really conservative and my ex-wife who is a financial planner, i had a talk with her a couple of days ago. we were discussing politics and she is a real right-wing -- her whole concept of romney is being that successful businessman where that's going to parlay into, you know, changing the infrastructure and, you know, just, you know, fixing the deficit up and i would explain to her it would have no consequence politically but my thing is with her, it's almost irrelevant because you have people out there that just dislike obama so much. they don't realize, you know, you know.

so my thing is for us i think it's fantastic the window keeps formulating. there is that mystique or the mystery that this guy is hiding something. >> greg, i am with you. first of all, let me say, you are a brave man for having that kind of conversation with your ex-wife. so before or ravo on that. secondly, as far as the strategy, look, i think it does help the democrats. the longer mitt romney keeps this up and digs in his heals in his heels and the people on the far right this will matter to. folks like your ex-wife, they are going to support mitt romney or whoever is run against president obama because they hate the president so much. but there are a lot of people in the middle, a lot of people in the center who i think will decide this election that are still making up their minds and to the extent that they hear mitt romney is trying to hide something or that he is not being transparent or he is not being honest or he is campaigning on his record as the ceo of bain but then he didn'toesn't

want to talk about that record, i think it means allotted to those folks and that's where the obama campaign is getting this right right by focusing on so much attention on it. al from buffalo, you are on the bill press show. good morning. >> good morning, david. >> if i was an obama speech writer, this is what i would say, the republicans blew the banks and put us in the worst crash since the depression and failed to and we lost $4$.6 billion of manufacturing jobs and tricked us into two unfunded wars allowing expenditures to go through the roof. mitt romney wants the president to apologize. really? >> you get to a great point. republicans like to claim to be the party of fiscal responsibility, but they have been completely reckless with their nation's finances for the last 10 years. mitt romney hasn't done anything to suggest that he would bring in any sort of fiscal responsibility other than, you know, suggesting that maybe there be cuts to medicare

social security or some sort of programs because of the fact of the matter is, if we want to balance the budget, if we want to cut down on the deficit, somebody is going to have to feel some pain. we either have to cause the pain on some of the wealthy people by asking them to pay a little bit more or the pain is going to have to go to those folks on medicare, medicaid and social security because if that's our greatest concern. if our concern is, we need to be more fiscally responsible, pay our bills, pay whatever the government spends, there has to be some pain inflicted. the question s. where do you want that paper? do you want it on the wealthy or on people with social security? >> the question. more with the bill press show after this. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> this is the bill press show. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] gaffe. it was wisdom says john sununu. you know what? john sununu, it is not the first time, having shared the crossfire desk with him. not the first time john sununu

doesn't know what he's talking about. he's dead wrong. i would like to see the evidence -- i would like to see his evidence, number one for the fact that there are cities out there who still have more

you've heard bill's views, now let's hear yours. politically direct means no b.s. just telling you what's going on in politics today. >>at the only on-line forum with a direct line to bill press. >>it's something i've been waiting for a long time. >>join the debate now. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ]

>> this is the full court press, the bill press show, live on your radio and on current tv. >> we are talking about mitt romney and the tax returns he won't release and his time at bain capital and how this is benefitting the democrats. andre, welcome to the bill press show. >> thanks for taking my call. >> sure. >> my point about romney is he is too greedy to be honest about anything as far as money. i think he is just too greedy and as far as rob portman, this guy has his name on thedepleting the deficit, depleting the surplus and running up the deficit and i just think he would get absolutely hammered if romney picks him because he is

attached to president bush president bush. >> that's a great couple of points and a special shoutout to and everybody looking over wvko and we appreciate everybody in columbus. it's interesting with rob portman and that idea for fiscal hawks who are worried about fiscal responsibility, yeah, rob portman, you make a great point he's got his finger prints all over the deficit exploding the way it has but he is a safe pick. i think it gets to the idea mitt romney is all about doing things the safe way and hoping at some point, maybe the american people will start looking at, you know the economy or all the other issues romney things he will win on. >> good morning. >> mitt seems like he's -- he feels just too rich to tell the truth. he finds the truth very offensive and rude and now he wants president obama to

apologize because he is lying? how arrogant can you get? >> it's such a great point and i think you get to the -- you gent to the one andre was ma can making. there is an entitlement mitt romney has whether it's his money or the way he grew up. he is different from most of us. and, you know, look there are a lot of wealthy people who are modest who feel like even though i have made a lot of money, i need to be transparent if i am going to run for political office, i need to explain what my positions and policies will be. mitt romney, i suppose, is used to having things his way. i don't think he has anybody near him saying you need to release your tax returns and be square about what you are going to do with your policies. >> that's why what bill crystal said yesterday and george will said yesterday, they spoke for many republicans saying you need to be more transparent. explain what you are going to do. more of the bill press show after this.

>> this is the bill press show.

[ ♪ theme music ♪ ] good morning, everybody. david shuster here welcome to the bill press show on currents t.v. what a great hour we have coming up. mitt romney is not making any plans to release his tax returns any time soon even though he showed 23 years worth to john mccain four years ago. what's mitt romney trying to hide? i have a pretty good theory. it's based upon communications from things mitt romney has already said. i will explain why mitt romney wants to keep these things away from you and what exactly they

are. by the way commercialism at the olympics: should our athletes be the equivalent of nascars with commercial billboards on their out fits? ralph lauren seems to think so. i will tell you what i think about that and will explain his healthy alternative, when the bill press show continues. first, it is time for the current news update with lisa ferguson. lisa. >> hi, david. good morning. good morning, everyone. the obama campaign is out with a new ad keeping up the attacks on mitt romney for outsourcing u.s. jobs and keeping his money in overseas tax havens. this ad came out over the weekend. here is your far warning in case you want to bring out your ear plugs because it features romney singing, "america the beauty quell ♪ on beautiful for spacious skies forearm ber. >> we won't subject you to any more of that. the add goes on to mention

romney's including ohio colorado and pennsylvania. romney something having a tough time fighting back against the president. receipt polls show these ads are working and offered the weekend, big name republicans came out against romney saying it's crazy he won't release his tax returns. this week, romney is trying to shift focus away from his finances and his time at bain capital. we can expect him to launch a new assault accusing the president of political cronyism using middle class lay-offs romney plans to say the president spoiled with taxpayer money and special government deals. plus the obama campaign is calling it a pretty weak line of attack since romney played favorites by giving tax breaks to certain companies while he was governor of massachusetts. coming up on full-court press with david shuster, we will have amy parnes, the white house core

spend on ent for the hill and join us in chant at current.com/billpress. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low they won't go to. oh, no. if al gore's watching today... double miles you can "actually" use. but with those single mile travel cards... [ bridesmaid ] blacked out... but i'm a bridesmaid. oh! "x" marks the spot she'll never sit. but i bought a dress! a toast... ...to the capital one venture card. fly any airline, any flight, anytime. double miles you can actually use.

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does breathing with copd weigh you down? ask your doctor if spiriva can help. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> broadcasting across the nation, on your radio and on current tv, this is the bill press show. >> david shuster sitting in for bill press. this is monday july the 16th. so glad to have everybody on board. our number this morning, 1866-557-7377. we are going to take your calls about mitt romney's tax returns. what does he have to hide? i will explain. but fascinating developments over the weekend. the obama campaign are putting pedal to the metal as far as the aggressiveness

aggressiveness. when democrats said maybe you had should pull back no, even % president obama made it clear that he is personally going to keep this issue going over mitt romney's tenure as ceo of bain capital. here is what president obama said to a local television station right here in washington. >> i think most americans figure if you are the chairman ceo and president of a company that you are responsible for what that company does. >> mitt romney says that this is not something that the president of the united states should be involved in. >> it's been either the dignity to go out and say the kind of things. democrats are saying that. >> they were democrats advising hillary clinton four years ago. we see how that turned out. we will talk more about this in just a couple of minutes. an amazing story out of utah in which an autistic man, 28 years old who went missing in the dessert there for nearly a month, he apparently survived by gathering some rainwater and eating frogs and roots of

various plants. >> good eats. >> he was spotted by a helicopter pilot. here is what the pilot described. >> to be able to wave his arms was a feat for him. the fact he was alive and conscious and cog anything ant was miraculous. >> that's a story we are going to hear more about but first the stories we care about with dan henning. >> this is the full-court press. >> on this monday, other headlines making news, london concert goers are ripping mad after organizers pulled the plug on bruises springsteen and paul mccartney during their concert in hyde park t the microphones were literally silent because they exceeded what is apparently a strict 10:30 p.m. noise curfew and springsteen was nearing the end of his set when he invited paul mccartney a former beetle to come out on stage to sing with him. cbs reports the microphones were cut off by the staff. >> no.

>> not even able to thank the crowd for coming to the show. >> my god. >> that's awesome, just so screwed up. >> katie holmes was working hard to get her daughter, siri cruz away from sigh entology. she has been enrolled in girl's catholic school in new york city. notable alumni include lady gaga and caroline kennedy among others. siri until now has been homeschool. >> how old is she? >> six. >> hom schooling. >> a nasa astronaut hitched a right on a space rocket and they blasted off from cas i cankazikstan. >> the space station's crew will be back up to 6 people.

they will be up there for four months. >> they are wearing these out faiths made by ralph lauren with these giant-sized polo logo on it. >> did you hear about this? the commercialism. dan, great stuff. ralph lauren now they have acknowledged it was a big mistake, big mistake not to have the u.s. olympic outfits, it was a bigmist not to have them made in the united states. they were made in china. ralph lauren said for the next olympics, we are going to change that. we are going to change that. if you look at these outfits, they have this gigantic ralph lauren logo on them. they don't have the flag. they don't have the words "u.s.a. on them. they have it looks like a guy on the horse with a polo stick, the ralph lauren corporate logo. it's giant size. this is out remainingous. its crazy. we are going to talk more about this. you don't want to miss that segment in an hour. let's talk about mitt romney and

the tax returns. so, there is this thing out there called carried interest. most of us don't know about this because we are not making, you know, millions of dollars and most of us don't make all of our money from our investments because, you know, our investments, maybe it's for retirement. but we have a lot of bills to pay. if you, you know, have an investment and it goes from, say, $100,000 to gross -- grows to $200,000, that's known as a capital gain. and on that capital gain of $100,000, the government has decided you only have to pay a tax rate of 15%. so what a lot of ceos or a lot of business leaders and people who are very wealthy do is put money in investments and live off sort of the investments or how the investment grows. a lot of people on wall street or financiers. >> that's how they are able to pay such a low tax rate. because, you know, mitt romney makes millions of dollars from his investments or how he puts his money and all of that money he makes he gets taxed at 15%. the people who are employed say as clarcal workers at bain

caltal or secretarial staff, their salary gets taxed at 28 or 33 or 35%. >> that's why mitt romney doesn't want to release his tax returns. as we know, he paid something like 13% last year based upon the estimates his campaign released. i have a feeling if we saw mitt romney's tax returns going back to, you know, the last 23 years, we would see he paid that rate for essentially two decades. by the way, his tax returns would also indicate exactly how much money he got from bain capital in years 2000, 2001, 2002, the very time that bain capital was shipping american jobs overseas to china and india. so that's what mitt romney is trying to hide. the other thing, though, that's getting him in trouble right now is republicans are turning on him saying, if you are running for president, this is something you have to do. even if it is awful. even if it looks bad. you have got to be transparent. americans are entitle to see what sort of character you have when it comes to how you pay

your taxes. and even though, over the weekend, there was a republican governor, robert bentley from alabama, who talked about his belief in transparency and he put the pressure on mitt romney. >> i just believe in total transparency and, in fact, i was asked today that question: do you think that governor romney should release his tax returns? and i said i do. >> penultley went on to point out that this would be a shorter story if mitt romney would simply get it out therebentley went on to point out that this would be a shorter story if mitt romney would simply get it out there. >> the best thing to do is get everything in the open and say i have nothing to hide. i am going to release my tax returns. but the same thing should go for the other side. >> yeah. president obama, he already released his birth certificate. by the way we have already seen his tax returns and some of us have been saying, oh yeah, by the way, we should print transcripts. those on the right declaring some sort of equivalency between college trips from 30 years ago and mitt romney's tax returns from last year, you folks are

crazy. one other thing, how does this sound? here is kelly ayot a possible republican vice presidential candidate. she is a senator from new hampshire, said to be close to the romneys. she campaigned over july 4th. here is what she said about mitt romney's adherence with federal laws when she was on one of the sunday talk shows. >> he has disclosed what he has to but released his phene tax returns. he is going to release his 2011 tax returns. but that's not what the american people are focusing on. they are worried about their own tax returns. >> no. i don't think so kelly. senator ayotte i think americans are concerned about his character. what does he say about the tax code? does he want to defend a tax code that en annals millionaires like him to only pay 14 or 15% or does he want to change the tax code and make it fair and make the wealthy pay a little bit more for the goods and services that have enabled them to get so rich in the first place? one more clip, and this goes to show just how difficult things

are. kevin madden a top romney communications strategist. listen to the talk active warning device position he was in when trying to did he have spend mitt romney not releasing the tax returns. >> disclosire laws are duty fully formed by his campaign. he complied with them 100%. >> that's the reason you are even having this discussion because he has gone above and beyond the laws, not just the sec tax disclosures. >> he has followed the federal law. >> that's inspiring. if you are a democrat out there, you ought to be thanking your lucky stars because mitt romney is running one of the worst presidential campaigns i have seen in a long time. i mean who knew that you could run for president, not have to take a position on anything, even even, say, the olympic uniforms. we will talk about that later. by the way, you can run for president of the united states. man, i think the american people are smart earn this. >> that's why mitt romney is in deep trouble. joe from shaumburg, illinois. you are on the bill press show.

>> i am thinking my lucky stars as far as a obama supporter. one point, i am sure he has smart people around him, mitt romney does. and they must have saw something that, you know, maybe he wanted to release them and they must have saw something they didn't like and probably said mitt you have to hold off. they are not stupid people walking for the romney campaign i am sure, david. this thing about bain capital, he is a cry baby. it's okay for him to attack president obama and newt again rich and rick santorum but god forbid you attack him? come on. as far as rob portman as a running mate? please, please, please. >> i am with you. rob portman would be mr. boring in my view. >> i don't think it's going to be him to be honest with you. i know he is the favorite but i think -- i read somewhere it's

down to two, him and former governor tim pawlenty. >> you know, look, romney has bigger problems than the vice presidential pick an i think the longer romney goes out -- joe, you have a great point. maybe they saw something in the tax returns that frightened them. the fact of the matter is, nobody forced him to run for president of the united states. you have a duty to be trans patient, a duty to open up your life. nobody is forcing you to do this. but there is an expectation that if you want to show the character, if you want to be elected president of the united states, the american people are entitled to turn your life inside out. art and ray, we know you are standing by. we will get to your calls. more of the bill press show after this. but this summer, we used our thankyou points >> the bill press show, new on

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[ ♪ theme ♪ ] [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> heard arounds the country and seen on current tv, this is the bill press show. >> david shuster sitting in this morning, hilarious home on fox news, they ran the clip of bill crystal saying it's crees for romney not to release tax returns and then it says "dems urge romney to release tax returns. bill crystal is not a democrat, fox news. i don't think you can fool your viewers on that one. art from faye etteville, north carolina. >> dave, first i want to say, can i get a retroactively retired job?

>> you and me both brother. >> i am getting ready to go to work because i could sure use a salary for three years or so. but what matters to me is character. in this two years -- this truly is about character. this is about the policies romney will instill. let me ask you this, dave. you are a lawyer. if bain had gotten sued during the time that romney was signing off on these sec forms at the 100% president and 100% shareholder, who would be responsible? >> well, first of all, i am not a lawyer but that doesn't matter. with this question, you make the right point and that is yeah, of course, mitt romney is responsible, as ceo, the buck stops with him. he could have made the argument that hey, yeah while i was ceo i designated a lot of my powers and duties to other people, but, yeah, ultimately, everything rests with me. he could have made that argument and tried to defend wham bain was doing.

but he's got some sort of stink factor that he is terrified of. art, you make a great point let's go to ray from buffalo. you are on the bill press show. good morning. >> good morning. mitt romney said on his federal disclosure form that he retired from bain caltal in 1999 and was not involved in any way. the words were "in any way" after 1999. but clearly, the salary from 2002. there are six instances of him signing off on deals between 1999 and 2002. this man doesn't want to be responsible for offshore bank accounts hiding his money offshore. he doesn't want to be responsible for showing his tax returns. what does he want to be responsible for? >> you know, ray, that's the great question. i have no idea what mitt romney wants to be responsible for. i think he wants to be responsible for the united states by being president.

but, you know, you just can't get there unless you are willing to showling coverage saying here is my life story, my documents, and here are my apology. mitt romney doesn't seem like he is willing to do much of any of that. the idea that he thinks that this is a successful strategy i think, is crazy. again, as i said all along democrats, we ought to applaud him. we ought to say, you know what? go ahead, romney. keep hiding. keep burying your tax returns, try to dig in your heels. every day that he does this is a good day for the obama campaign. jim from las vegas, nevada. you are on the bill press show. >> hi, david. friday, i am with moveon.org. they delivered to campaign offices around the country letters requesting that he do like his father did and release 12 years of his income tax. we had signed letters at his

campaign. supporters and the people in his campaign office were so rude to myself, to the people in our group, and we had a little sign saying mitt romney is 112th. man his father was. father knows best. listen to your father. these people came up and called ladies in our group sluts and you must be on welfare to support obama. one lady told me that the president hasn't do anything for our country. i said what about healthcare? she said you are fat and lazy. i mean these people were unreal. when we finally, after an hour of walking and talking to people, we are going to deliver these letters to their office, the police were called because they said that we were trespassing. the police got there and said we weren't. one guy came out of his office and we shook hands and said here are some letters and he said, what is your name, sir? i don't have to give you my

name. i can accept these signed letters but i don't have to give you my name. these people are nuts. they kept saying when obama releases his birth certificate we will be happy to release. i mean these people. >> i hear you. the fact of the matter i think we should feel some, i don't know if sympathy is the word but we should feel sorry for those people because they obviously have so much invested that they are willing to sort of put aside their own integrity because they believe in mitt romney. once upon a time in america and i think it's the case if you wok for a company or politician and that politician did something incredibly wrong, you would say, you know what? i don't want to be part of this. i don't want to be part of a campaign and by the way, i am not going to be mean to people who disagree. you know, there were a lot of people at jobs i have had who said some pretty nasty critical things about people i worked with or things that i did. some of the times, i agreed with those people. so i would be nice to them and say, okay.

look. i appreciate it. i hear you. i agree with you. please don't tell anybody because i don't want my bosses at nbc news to hear this but the fact of the matter is yeah, you made a valid point. and why we can't have that sort of did i feel discourse in politics any more, at least on the republican side, is beyond me. and i'm sorry that the romney folks are so misguided and so nuts that they had to be so personally mean to you. i mean that just doesn't do nick any good. the fact of the matter is, i know some of the romney people and they agree mitt romney should release his tax returns. bain capital saying they don't like it. look, you have a lot of foot soldiers who feel so invested and some people are crazy. they don't have any sense of balance or proportion. anyway, coming up, we are going to talk with white house correspondent amy parnes about the obama view on all of this when the bill press show continues. [ music ] >> this is the bill press show.

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dishware during the rinse cycle. gross. jet-dry rinse agent helps wash them away so the only thing left behind is the shine. jet-dry rinses away residues for a sparkling shine. her unique mix of comedy and politics to current tv. >> it's like a reality show, they're just turning cameras on and we just do our thing. >>politically direct to me means no b.s., the real thing, cutting through the clutter. i'm energized to start my show everyday because it's fun, because i care about what's going on in this country, rather than some sort of tired banter it is actual water cooler talk it's the way people really talk about these issues. we've always considered ourselves a comedy show. let me just say i am not ready for my close up. i think it's important to laugh. i think it will be exciting, because you can't script three hours of radio. what is going on? i can't tell you how many times right wingers call the show and say, "i don't agree with anything you say, but your show is funny as hell." the only thing that can save

america now, current tv. can i say that? >> this is the bill press show live on your t.v. >> david shuster in for bill press. the obama campaign continues to hit the accelerator on this effort to focus everybody on mitt romney's tenure on bain capital. mitt romney, of course, said he didn't have much involvement with bain capital after 1999 when he went off to salt lake city to run the olympics there but the financial disclosure documents indicate he signed documents indicating he was ceo all the way through 2002. the reason this is so important is because, well starting in

2000, 2001, 2002, those were crucial years when bain capital was taking american companies and shipping jobs overseas. president obama brought this up in an interview he gave over the weekend. listen. >> ultimately, mr. romney i think, is going to have to answer those questions because if he aspires to run for president, one of the things he will return is you are ultimately responsible for the conduct of your operations. it wasn't just? interviews. he we have this into one of his campaign speeches over the weekend in clifton, village. >> my opposed in his private business, investing in companies called themselves pine easier of outsourcing. i believe in insourcing. >> joining us to talk about the obama administration strategy behind all of this, their view of how mitt romney is handletion it is the hill white house correspondent, aim parnes. follow amy online at thehill.com

and at twitter at amieparnes. >> welcome to the show. >> thanks for having me. >> you were covering the president this weekend. what was the mood. >> i think they are quite happy with how the dialogue is going. they don't have to talk about the down economy, which is a big problem for them they can keep hitting romney on bain which is a problem for him. if you are explaining, you are losing. romney has been explaining basically for the last few days. it's taking him off message. >> peter, the romney clip number 6, he is trying to talk about what sort of involvement level of association he had with bain and when. and here he is mitt romney trying to explain in a series of interviews last week exactly what that association was. >> i had no association with the management of bain capital after february of 1999. >> that's when i left the firm. i -- i am very pleased with the experience i had with the firm. but as everyone knows, i went

off to run the olympics for three years. i was there full-time. >> the obama campaign must love this. >> they are loving it. >> mitt romney could have said i was with bain. we didn't do the things that the ad said. now, to move it as to whether or not he was with bain or not and you have these documents saying he was with bain. >> yeah, then the comments, where said retroactively retiring. this conversation keeps moving forward. they are very happy with that. >> speaking of the ed gill is pi since you mentioned it let's play up ed gillespie, sort of an elder statesman in the party. i don't know if he is associated with the romney campaign but he was trying to explain, you know, how it worked, how could it be that romney had signed his name to documents indicating he was ceo until 2000001, 2002 when he had said he had no involvement after 199? >> the international olympic committee was going to be a huge embarrassment because of mitt

romney's leadership skills. he took a leave of absence and ended up not going back at all and retired retroactively to february of 1999 as a result. >> what did the obama campaign do with that? >> instantly, my e-mails were flooded with e-mails basically saying, you know, what does ret proactively retired mean. now they are trying to explain t in e-mails, you are saying that. it's just murky turf for them. they are left having to explain it. >> you were on poll duty when the president went golfing and difficult sometimes to pick up when you can't even see him but what was the sort of mood or could you tell anybody in the body language of how he was doing. we never saw the president as a standard when he plays golf. the fact he went golfing said something like he could kick back for a minute and actually do something that republicans criticize him for doing. i think it was a good for a

moment moment for him where he could unwind a little while. >> the whole addage that when your opponent is shooting himself in the foot, you take yourself out of the equation. the person with the gun was bill crystal and george will and ed gillespie saying tough things. ed gillespie trying to defend him but others saying he should release the tax returns, he is losing. the president to not be part of the conversation goes golfing. >> at the very moment they are talking about it, he is golfing. it's all may messaging. >> what do you make of where the obama campaign goes from here? how long do they focus on this? can they take it through the olympics or keep going as long as they can? >> my sources are telling me they are going to play this up. you have seen them play it up for the last month or so. maybe even for the last year. they are going to continue playing this up even beyond the olympics. they are using this for all it's

worth. >> tax returns mitt romney refusing to release tax returns. i imagine every day he digs in his heels, that's a great day for the obama campaign. >> exactly. they are going to continue to pass him for that, that. you saw his surrogates rom emmanuel saying stop whining to use mitt romney's own terminology. they are playing this up in every single way. >> a couple of weeks ago, there were some concerns. i think they were expressed more recently but by mark penn strategic advise orb in 2004 and helped advise bill clinton as president. stan green berg, clinton polster and ed randel former governor of pennsylvania saying, you know what? the obama campaign strategy of attacking bain capital is unwise. democrats and obama ought to focus more on hezina chiefments and accomplishments and lay off. what was the reaction for the obama campaign? >> then they were a little bit -- they were pushing back on that a little bit but you are not seeing that right now. i mean they are using this for

everything it's worth and they are going to continue to do it. and so i just don't see. i think theat was in the past where they focused grouped this. they see it's making the rounds doing well. people like it. you saw the president saying we are not going to apologize for any of this. you know, he has the right to know who mitt romney is and so, he's going to keep saying that. i think they are pretty strong in that message. >> very similar. i understand that, you know, for awhile, the obama campaign studied what happened to john kerry in 200 for you and there was the bush campaign running for reelection. they took john kerry's military experience, foreign policy experience and turned it against him in those untrue swift boyt affects. it neutralized something rommingney -- i'm sorry john kerry wanted to campaign on. the obama campaign feels they are doing the same with mitt romney but based more on facts. >> exactly. you saw this weekend they launched an ad in nine swing states where they pushed him on

outsourcing. they think you are going to continue to see the ads until the election. they think bain is a huge part of who he is. they say it's more important even than his governing experiences because he points to it as, well, i can make money. i know how to improve the economy. >> what about the charge that republicans are trying to make and you hear some sentencetrists and mod rats making that president obama was a candidate of hope and change. and this is not a hope and change. campaign strategy? >> it's for now it is. it's quarkworking for him. the down economy is a problem for him. so as soon as this dialogue shifts, you are going to have to see the president trying to explain why the economy isn't moving fast enough. >> that's a big problem for him. if the romney campaign is able to move that conversation, i think that you will see the dialogue shift a little bit. >> you have been traveling with the president. you are traveling tomorrow when he makes his trip? >> yes. austin. >> what's it been like between the relationship between the press and the president and his

white house aides? sometimes it can be tense. sometimes, especially it can be tough, but in campaigns, usually, it warms up. what's it been like? >> he dam back to the back of the plane from what i understand, the other day. i think he is trying to use this opportunity to sort of talk to the press. we haven't seen him much really at the whitehouse lately and that's a problem among reporteders who cover him. he has been doing these local interviews and so every time he does that, you hear a little grumbling from the press corps like why aren't we able to ask him questions? i think we will continue to see him occasionally come back and talk and i think the mood is all right for now. >> what is the schedule like? how does he handle the olympics? it becomes a huge must-watch event. i know they are running ads in the olympics. >> they are. you have seen a ramp-up on this campaign. the last week or so. last week, he campaigned, i think, three days. this week, he is campaigning

four days. today, he is in cincinnati. he will be having his first town hall of the campaign season. so that's pistol and i guess we will -- pivotal and tomorrow fundraising, he really, really needs to go up against mitt romney and the outside groups raising money against him. he is going back to california next week, the honey pot to get some more money. >> he will do fundraising during the olympics. will he keep up the aggressive campaign schedule or do they dial it back? >> i think they do. you are seeing him. he cancelled marthases vineyard next month. i think he did it on purpose for image reand messaging as well as to buy formore time to campaign and fund raise. they are sending michelle obama to london to do the olympics. she is there. he is here. he can campaign. >> i have a feeling michelle will not wear a ralph lauren outfit with the a giant logo on

it. >> no. >> we will talk more with amie parnes. amie parnes, a white house correspondent from the hill and we will talk about the obama campaign strategy and ask amie what she thinks about the ralph lauren olympic outfits when the bill press show continues. >> this is the bill press show live on your radio and current tv. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] trash collectors to teachers, 866-55-press. join the conversation. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> on your radio, on t.v., the

we know that back to school time means back to school germs. that's why lysol partners with schools all across the country providing resources designed to help teach healthy habits. so make sure you add lysol no touch hand soap and lysol wipes to your "back to school" list. that way, the healthy habits they learn in school will reinforce the good habits you've already taught them at home. to learn more, visit lysol.com/schools. lysol. mission for health. >> romney you can take it. >> a new ad we will play for you when we come back here with lynn

sweet, chicago sun times methderr death shiner from row call and bill cress part full-court press. you are welcome to join our conversation at 866-55-press. we will be right back. >> this is the bill press show. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> this is the bill press show, live on your radio and current tv.

>> and welcome back. david shuster in for bill. we will talk with amie parnes. she is the white house correspondent on the hill. find her at onlineat asksthe'til hill.com. >> obama was ridiculed using tell prompters. >> he has waned himself off of it weaned himself off of it in ohio, also wasn't using it referring to notes on his podium and sort of looking around at the audience and ad-libbing a bit. last week, on friday, excuse me, when he was talking about how this is his last term he likes to throw in, like, little lines like, michelle hates it or i mean michelle loves this, you know, she loves it -- loved it at my last campaign. he likes to play off of the audience a little more. it's something i think his campaign was criticized for a couple of weeks ago, that he

wasn't plainying off of the crowd. they wanted to be revved up. he was a little more buttoned up. you are starting to see a looser obama. >> sort of going when are they want to go. >> last week in front of it predominantly an african-american crowd and he needs them in this election there is a problem perceived problem with the turnout. so i think that that gave him the opportunity to sort of play off them a bit. >> you mentioned he is throwing in references to greyhound and howard johnsons. what's that all about? >> you saw him really ramp up his populist pitch this past week on stops where he is -- he can't really relate to anyone right now because he is a machine millionaires whez is he. but you hear him talk about when i was a kid, we used to ride on grain hound, stay in howard johnson's. we took the train once in a while. we road in our cars. so you are seeing him. no one says that just to say it

obviously in economics. you see him try to relate to people a little more. >> is it working? >> hard to say if it's working. i think the crowd chuckles a little bit when he said i rode the greyhound but it's hard to say if that will drive votes at all. >> there was a time when the obama cramampaign, covering it was brutal. is it for people trying to keep up? >> i am feeling it the last couple of weeks especially. i wrote a story last week about how campaign has shifted. until now, you know, even though his critics accuse him of campaigning this entire time you have seen him really, really get into campaign mode. they always said we would know when it was campaign mode and we know that it's campaign mode now. this week, florida the final two days of this week thursday and friday, he is in austin and san antonio tomorrow. he is in ohio today. california next week.

>> in the next hour we will talk a lot about the olympic committee and their decision to have the ralph lauren outfits. they said they will change it but they have this corporate logo. mitt romney was asked about this and didn't want to offer an opinion. has the president been willing to get involved in this at all? >> no. they are both sort of staying out of this, which is interesting because you would think that governor romney would want to sort of weigh in and accuse the president of this. he specially, you know, because the president is accusing him of outsourcing now. it would seem like it would be a good opportunity for him to sort of say, well, hey, this is under your watch and this is what's happening. >> i am not sure. why is it so difficult? i get it from obama's perspective anything he says is going to step on his message, going to step on the story line all about romney and bain. i get why the president is quiet. i don't understand why it's so difficult for mitt romney. why can't he just say, look of course our athletes should wear out fits and uniforms made in the united states and i am glad

to hear that there are all of these companies willing to do that now. yeah, i support them being made in the u.s.a. i don't understand why that's so difficult. >> didn't want to touch it. it was surprising given his olympic experience and this was a prime opportunity for him to weigh in. >> unless bain was involved in some textile company he shut down and sent overseas and and he was afraid of being called a hypocrite. a couple of more minutes with amie on the other side of this. you are listening and watching the bill press show. >> this is the full court press, the bill press show, live on your radio and on current tv. >> bill: the way the process works is the federal government would drag the state of florida into court and it would be resolved in front of a judge or in front of a jury. works. want to come back to this -- to the teachers thing. because again, we're in the middle of a campaign season but it seems that rather than saying oh, i didn't mean like president

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>> this is the bill press show. >> david shuster with amie parnes, the white house core correspondent for the hill. you were mentioning the president speaking with african-american audiences. what is their mood, level? and how significant is that group for the obama campaign? >> a couple of people i wrote a story about it with my clip colleague, nile stan i knew andge and we spoke to people about while they like him, they are disappointed, unemployment is principal high amongst that group saying we like him but we don't know if we can come out and support him. he has really sort of let us down down. >> there is a fear notice obama campaign that a lot of

african-americans will stay home? >> it is a fear. they have launched some programs that sort of appeal to the drive and turning out voters. you see that with prayoperation vote. it's also for women and hispanics and gay groups but it's basically to send a message that we need you. here is what the president has done. and, you know, they are saying we are not sensing a problem but i think there is a little bit of a problem there. >> another problem you have identified is money. it's been more difficult for the obama campaign to raise money than they thought it would be. >> yeah, the super p.a.c. isn't compete. they try to tamp down expectations by saying we didn't expect to raise as much. you know the president is still ahead in money. but it is a problem for them. >> that's why you are continuing to see his fund raise tomorrow

like going to austin which texas isn't a swing state as you know but he is going back, sensing money there. next week, there is a stop back in california, i think san jose so going back to silicon valley which actually is supporting him in this campaign more than new york, i think because i think new york is a little bit frustrated with him, too, wall street. >> amie parnes white house correspondent for the hill. thank you for coming in this morning. >> thank you. >> great conversation. great coverage of the white house and the obama campaign. by the way, you like the olympic uniforms? >> i mean the beret is a bit much. don't you think? >> i am okay with the b. re. >> you are a bere man, schuster? >> i can't stand a giant polo logo. we are going to talk about that at the top of the hour. peter, you are going to hear an ear-ful from me. >> i stand by ready to take it.

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[ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> good morning, everybody. david shuster in for bill press. welcome to current and so glad to have you with us on the program over the next hour. you know, that story over the united states olympic schmidt outfits for athletes who are going to be marching in the stadium on friday night? that story is not over because even though ralph lauren said in future olympics we will make sure the outfits are made in the united states, they have this ralph lauren corporate logo on the outfit. they don't have the flag the words u.s.a.

they will this logo. we will talk about commercialism of our athletes coming up this hour and about mitt romney and his handling of the bain capital strategy. it's stepping in it again. we will talk about that when the show continues. but first, it is time for your current news update with lisa ferguson in the hot seat. lisa how are you doing todd? >> i am good. good morning. good morning, everyone. mitt romney is headed to a fundraiser in louisiana as the president campaigns in cincinnati, ohio. we can expect him to highlight the auto bail-out which you might remember romney tried to take credit ford and hit on romney's tax proposals saying they will spur growth in foreign countries like china. the g.o.p. has charged senator rob portman with an important gig hours before president obama speaks in cincinnati portman will hold an event of his own in lebanon, ohio. portman is a leading contender for the vp bid and speaks to the

romney campaign on a regular basis. the latest attempts for florida to purge voter roles. the department of justice sued florida last month for trying to block non-citizens from voting and missed targeting hundreds of legitmat voters in the process. they got access to the alien registration database and north carolina are fighting for similar access. states like these could ultimately determine the november election. we are beginning to see more asian americans running for congress. 30 launched campaigns this year, three times more than the last two e elections. it could mark a receipt political awakening for the group and a chance not only to affect the balance of congress but also to break stereotypes nationwide. coming up on full-court press with david shuster, chris rolling of the boston globe will talk more about romney's bain

controversy and join us on chat right now, current.com/bill press. nice to talk to you. [ applause ] >> when someone stumbles across the show, it usually doesn't end well. >> stephanie: it ended better do. all right. just a truce. all right. 45 minutes -- it was a wash. 45 minutes after the hour. right back on "the stephanie miller show."

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ask your doctor if spiriva can help. [ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] this is the bill press show. >> good morning everyone. david shuster here on monday july 16th. romney's top advisors look shell-shocked. this was not a weekend for the romney campaign. on fox news sundays, bill crystal, one of the leading conservative intellectuals in washington, a type of intellectual spokesman for the republican party on the right. and here is what he said about mitt romney refuse can to release his tax returns:

>> he should release the tax returns tomorrow. it's crazy. you have got to release six, eight, 10 years. take the hit for a day or two. >> take the hit for a day or two. it's crazy not to release them t he provided some 23 years worth of tax returns to john mccain four years ago. it wasn't just the tax return issue that caught up with mitt romney on the sunday shows. his entire handling of bain capital which he has been trying to deny that he was at bain capital in the crucial years when the company was outsourcing jobs to indiana and china even though there are documents in which mitt romney affixed his name to documents indicating he was ceo during those years, mitt romney continues to say he wasn't involved. the obama campaign is hammering him and here is george will's take, another republican's take. >> who is winning? >> mitt romney is losing at this point in a big way. >> he is loose nag big way. ouch. one thing that could change the narrative right now, the story line for mitt romney is if he

possibly makes his vice presidential pick but there is some indications that he is not ready to do that for a weeks and yet there has been a lot of chatter about condoleeza rice. she gave a stem-winder speech a couple of weeks ago. she has interesting credentials. here is what mitt romney said when he was asked about condoleeza rice. >> i have had a chance to speak with a number of people with foreign policy. john bolton and i have spoken. so condoleeza rice and her view like these others, are views that i find very helpful. >> when you are asked about condoleeza rice, you don't bring up john goton. >> what a downgrade. what a downgrade. >> what is this guy thinking? >> he might as well have brought up donald trump. >> talk about a bad weekend for mitt romney. on the other side of full-court press, we will talk about the olympic committee and talk about mitt romney's inability to state a position on our athletes as far as what they wear.

good grief. >> dan henning has the full court press. >> on monday, other headlines making news, the ink on nba star's jason kidd's contract was not even dry when he had a little too much to drink. >> amazing. >> crashed his s.u.v. a cadillac escalade into a telephone noel southampton long island. he suffered injuries and was charged with a dwi. the form he were nets star player signed a deal. >> nicks are going all the way into a telephone pole this year. >> they say jason kidd was never very good about staying in the lane when he drove. >> bad lane penetration. queen of soul wants to be a judge on american idol. aretha franklin told reuters in an e-mail just days after steven tyler and jennifer lopez exited the show she is interested in being on the panel but the 18 time grammy winner has not had

official talks with the fox program which has seen a ratings slump over the past couple of years. >> i think she would help ratings. i would watch. >> yeah. >> a man in dallas, texas has spent awhile trying to get his stolen car back his 1967 austin healy taken from his driveway in philadelphia 42 years ago. he has it again. nbc news reports robert russell found what he thought might be his car on e-bay. he checked. he called police got his car back. 42 years ago, he paid $3,000 for it. today, it's worth about $23,000. >> wow. >> that's a nice story. i am glad we heard that story from nbc and not cnn because -- should i go there? >> feel free. >> i am not going to go there. >> i am not going to stop you. >> anyway, dan henning, thank you very much. so last week the story bubbled up about how ralph lauren

outfitting our athletes for the opening ceremonies and they have these nice, you know suits and pants and whatnot and that ralph lauren's outfits for our 580 athletes marching into the stadium in london on friday night, that they were not made in the united states but made in china. and a lot of folks said so what? a lot of things are made in china these days . the issue here is that the textile industry in the united states has lost over a million jobs over the last decade. there are still some quality outfits and suits and textiles that are made right here. hickey freeman, for example, and hard shaft never, marks all of my suits are made by those two ever since i saw a textile mil disclose in the 1990s and saw what it did to the town, this is one thing i am going to do. i am going to buy my suits american made. hickey friedman or marks ralph lauren have the companyapacity to

make suits in the united states and they chose to do it more cheaply in china. what was interesting last friday was when members of congress was outraged about how can they have these made in china put on our olympic athletes? this is a no-brainer. of course you condemn this. here is what mitt romney said when he was asked to weigh in. >> i am not going to get into the uniform issue. there are big matters associated with the olympics. the security of the games for our athletes. these are the things i am going to focus on. >> like he is concerned about the security like he is involved in that. he is not involved in the security. and peter, how difficult is it for mitt romney to go say, look. of course these uniforms these outfits should be made in the united states. of course, i believe that the american worker is more qualified to outfit our athletes than the china easy? this is a no-brainer. even ralph lauren acknowledged this. literally like an hour after

mr. mitt romney was trying to play it safe, even be ralph lauren did and acknowledged it and apologized and said they would do better. >> if democrats were smart they will turn this into another negative ad because you could say mitt romney yet another example of his outsourcing because he won't take a stand on the uniform. >> here is a guy he doesn't want to take a stand on the beaumont. he doesn't want to talk about a new healthcare initiative to replace what he wants to get rid of. he does not want to outline what he would do with medicare or social security or outline what he would do with the tax code. he doesn't want to take any positions on almost any morething. aboticides it to be a focus on the economy. at some point, he has to take a position on something. why not start here? this was a gimme. this was easy. >> here is the other thing peter and dan talked a lot about the outfits last week. here is my take. okay? fine. the issue about, you know, ralph lauren and they don't want to have the outfits made in the

united states. they say they don't have time to get it done by next -- by friday even though hickey freeman says they could. whatever. here is my greater concern at this point. right? i don't think our olympic athletes should be like nascars. right in she thud not be be like stock cars that have the advertisements, the commercial logos all over them. when you look at these outfits and google the image, google the picture of, you know a ralph lauren olympic, you know, outfits, there is a logo the size of a football on these things, you know, with the ralph lauren corporate logo with the guy on a horse wielding a polo. that's crazy. there is not a u.s. flag. there is not the words "u.s.a." there is just a giant ralph lauren corporate logo. >> its way bigger. everyone has seen the polo shirts that have the little jockey but this is bigger, like five times always big as the usual one. weird.

>> so that they could be, you know, tens of millions watching the olympic ceremonies, they will see the logo so it will be on television. it stinks. it's awful. the united states 0 almost you pick committee are a private organize. they get to do what they want but these athletes are representing all of us. i think to turn our olympic athletes into commercial billboards for whoever happens to either be giving the olympic committee. if ralph lauren wants to support the committee, buy an ad buy advertising time. help them in other ways. it's sickening. it's crass. it's cheap and it's shameful what ralph lauren is doing with these uniforms even now. and i wish all of these agent let's would say i am not going to be some corporate billboard for somebody. i am going to put an american flag right there. >> that's what i am going to do or i am going to put the words "u.s.a." or, you know even what michael jordan did. he was mehta couple of years ago because the rebach basketball --

rebook and he is about nike they covered it up. they are not billboards for anything except their athletic prowess. man, mike from ohio, you are on the bill press show. >> how are you doing? >> good. >> i think the reason, because romney ain't saying anything because the other night on bill -- ed schultz show he had where the uniforms were made back in what? 2000 when he ran it? and i am sure romney had something to do with that. so he is not going to say anything. that's all this guy is for. >> i hear you. i would imagine the united states olympic committee let the outfits be made wherever the manufacturer wanted. i wouldbrity 2000 olympics, the outfits were not made in the united states and romney doesn't want to come across as a hypocrite. he should say what? you know in the past, we haven't cared so much. but now we do care because we see how many job losses have

occurred in the united states in the textile industry. from this point forward, yes. they should be made in the united states. it would be easy for him. then he wouldn't be called a hip hypocrite. virginia we will take your call on the other side of this break when this continues and my rant continues about ralph lauren. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> radio meets television the bill press show now on current tv. >>only on current tv. rich, chewy caramel rolled up in smooth milk chocolate. don't forget about that payroll meeting. rolo.get your smooth on. now in minis. dose of politics from a fresh perspective. >>i'm a slutty bob hope. the troops love me.

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♪ long before romney ♪ ever did ♪ >> thank you . >> stephanie: 45 minutes after the hour. we'll be back as we close "the stephanie miller show." >> on "the stephanie miller show" in suburban america this >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: joe cirincione is our [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> radio meets television, the bill press show, now on current

tv. >> david shuster sitting in for bill. hello everybody who is on current.com/bpshow. a great chat room. we appreciate the conversation that all of you are having during the show. also, if you want to follow the show on twitter, twitter.com/bp show or on facebook, facebook.com/bill press show. you may think, wait a second. schuster is down on the olympigs because he doesn't like the outfits with the corporate logo. there are some good things in this story as well. i want to talk about commercialism. here is an example. so nbc. nbc sports nbc olympics their anchors are going to be wearing outfits, suits and things that are made by hickey freeman made in the united states, made in america. by the way, hickey freenan is not going to have some guy gantt i can hf on their outfits. no. >> some weird guy. >> a me coke logo but i would

say hats off to nbc, to jim bell, the executive producer of their olympics coverage the. the fact that nbc cares that their tall he want and on-air have outfits made in the united states, kudos to nbc and shame on the united states olympic committee for not doing due diligence and shame on ralph lauren for trying to turn our athletes into commercial billboards. virginia, from alexandria village. >> i love you. >> i have a comment these ralph lauren looks like everybody is on the polo team and they are not special. they look like they came from a sears catalogue from 1968.

there was a time that wearing logos was fuel but our athletes are sacrosanct. we are proud of the athletes. we don't want this to be a hall of fame for ralph lauren. >> it's disgustingly commercialized. >> i appreciate the call and all of the love right back at you. ken from the adirondack, new york area. welcome to the bill press show. good morning. >> hey guys. >> ken, do you love us too? >> well, yeah, forever. >> okay. all right. thanks for sitting in for bill. >> sure. >> and bringing up the logo. it couldn't be any bigger unless you silk screened the front and the back and you are one step away, literally, like you said from being nascar. the major problem i have with it is it's all about ralph lauren.

if you are going to be a corporate sponsor. this is about money-making for lauren. >> at this point, i would encourage the united states olympic committee to come clean. how much money did you get from ralph lauren in order for them to be able to put that logo? how much it? let the people decide whether they should be fundraising in that fashion. if you are going to do that, maybe some companies that actually do make their products in the united states liable hickey freeman and heart shaftner marks. it's like i used to be mad about the naming rights to the stadium, named after corporate entities and now the athletes can be for sell to corporate america, it's freak. >> we have been through this before at the evened of the last olympics. they had suits all made in china.

and everybody raised hell about it. it's kind of like, okay. they got away with it. so they did it again. it's not just an issue for our athletes. we have an opportunities every day in terms. consumer choices we make to take a stand. so when you buy a suit t friends look inside a jacket if it is made in the united states, it will have a little united states flag with the words "unite" which stands for union of neemingdz point industrial textile employees,un night. >> that's how you know that suit is made in the united states. that little flag inside is a lot more significant that whatever sort of flag pin plastic pen they wear on fox news or the other news organizations that claim to be patriotic. we have an opportunity in this country to sort of make these conscious decisions about where we buy our clothes, even

gasoline, for example. did you know that sonoko is one of those gas companies that actually cares about global warming? they are actually trying to do things to sort of work with all of us to try to solve the issue whereas exxon is spending millions of dollars to deny global warming? so i go out and i buy my gasoline at sonoko and i never buy from exxon. these decisions, we can do this. we can use our pocketbooks to reward people doing the right thing, reward the corporations that are doing right by america and punish those that are doing wrong, and, you know, we talk about this on my radio show takeactionnews. we have a segment about corporate responsibility and how we can use your pocketbooks to make a difference. i think this movement is just starting to take off because i think that people are realizing, that, yes, there are consequences when we buy our textiles, when we buy our suits and clothes and what not from the companies that are making them in china as opposed to making them here in the united states. and i care more about the american worker than i care about the chinese worker and i

think ralph lauren should care more about american workers than the chinese workers and the united states olympic committee should be more concerned. i mean if the united states olympic team, not the chinese team they are outfitting. >> that's my rants. coming up, we will talk with the boston globe bureau chief, crits roland. remember boston globe was that organization that mitt romney demanded an apology from because of their reporting over bain captam and then on monday, we fiend out, no, the boston globe was right on the story, solid and that there were documents backing up that mitt romney had been ceo at bank. what does the boston globe think of mitt romney's demand for an apology. we will talk with chris roland when the show continues after this. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ]

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through the clutter. i'm energized to start my show everyday because it's fun, because i care about what's going on in this country, rather than some sort of tired banter it is actual water cooler talk it's the way people really talk about these issues. we've always considered ourselves a comedy show. let me just say i am not ready for my close up. i think it's important to laugh. i think it will be exciting, because you can't script three hours of radio. what is going on? i can't tell you how many times right wingers call the show and say, "i don't agree with anything you say, but your show is funny as hell." the only thing that can save america now, current tv.

can i say that? [ music ] >> on your radio and on current tv, this is the bill press show. >> welcome back. david shuster in for bill we are talking with chris roland with the boston globe. it was the boston globe that first reported a story about mitt romney and bain capital and him being at bain capital when the years when they were moving jobs overseas. foremost him@bostonglobe.com. before we talk about mitt romney, i have to ask you about the rant these olympic outfits

ralph larren has made that have the giant corporate logo that were made in china, what do you make of that. >> it's a pretty big embarrassment. how could this happen? not only that, you know, these things are outsourced to china but then as you were pointing out about the logo and it's so commercial. the olympics are supposed to be the spirit of national pride and things like that. so our national pride is doing to be ralph lauren logo? >> sort of an odd jux tap po situation. >> in the occupy movement they had an american flag. instead of stars they had corporate logos on the flag. so the republican friends were so outraged. how could they desecrate a flag like that? well, in this case there is no u.s. flag. there is no u.s.a. there is just the giant polo logo. it's crazy. >> yeah. >> so when our teammez are

marching in, that's what people will talk about. >> tell me about your report okay mitt romney. for people who didn't see the original story, tell what you guys reported and what you broke. >> for years mitt romney has used a first line of defense against attacks on been a and outsourcing and lay-offs of bain-owned companies, wasn't there. he left after 1999 and it's been his main talking point when faced with what the business model of bain capital was. what we found out last week and reported was that the sec documents that, you know, bain is a privately held company. they don't actually have, you know a quarterly filing they are supposed to make like a public company would but there are a variety of documents they

are required to file as owners of publically traded companies. right? so if they own more than 5% of a firm, of a publically traded ferm firm, there are a variety of disclass they are required to make to the se. c. we went through and scoured those things after 1999 and found that mitt romney indeed was the president, ceo and sole owner of bain caltap inc., which is the management partner in all of bain capital's deals. >> this was huge politically because the obama campaign had run ads talking about mitt romney sort of outsourcing. the romney campaign called those false and lies and saying mitt romney wasn't there. the obama campaign is taking this -- is wrong and then you guys report that, no. there are these documents. he signed documents saying he was a managing partner and the romney campaign has eg on their face. what the do they do neg. >> it's breaking it down into a

different. debate. it's been established that indeed mitt romney is ceo of bain captamital between 1999 and 2002. what does at that mean? now, the question is he had legal authority over that business. so now it's sort of changing the public debate. now, the public debate is, it's not that oh, i wasn't there. it's that, you know, i was legally in charge but i didn't have anything to do with the management and the operations of it. so they have had to modify their story. it's also gotten gummed up in between, you know, at different times he had different stories about when he left or what his status was after he went to run the olympics in salt lake city in 1999. at first, he said he was on a leave of absence. then later on, he started to say that he had retired. and so those con conflicting things and then the conflicting statements in the documents are causing him a variety of headaches that the obama people are really taking add vantage of at this point. >> verbal gymnastics from mitt romney where we once had a president who said what the

definition of is is with mitt romney wants to be president, it depends upon what the definition of ceo is? what did they say to you last week? they demanded a correction? >> they did demand a correction. so, you know, their story is mitt romney left bain capital in 1999 and had nothing to do with bain capital after that. so their correction was based on that assertion. our reporting shows in sec documents that that's not exactly true. he took a leave. he left day-to-day control of bain capital, but he continued to be ceo and owner of bain capital, inc. he was -- he was the man, you know, who owned the place. he was in charge. he had delegated some of that authority to other people to do day-to-day deals but he was still the ceo of the company. and that's what our reporting shows and that's what we are dealing now with, is with the fallout of that. what are the implications? i think that's being sorted out. >> your reporting was precise, very careful and yet they were still, last thursday, they

demanded some sort of retraction or correction. how did you guys handle that? >> we reviewed. so as it went on, the story broke thursday morning. as the day wore on people, you know, they put out a story in the morning saying this story is inaccurate. their spokeswoman, understand degree i can't asul. so as the day wore on, reporters started asking campaign if the story was inaccurate have you demanded a correction? well, the answer was no at that points. so they hastily at about 3:30 or 4:00 o'clock sent our eterred, marty barren, a note with some bullet points why, you know, demanding a retraction or correction. we reviewed it carefully and looked at it and marty determined our reporting was totally accurate. you know, we reported. i mean our reporting was based on documents. it's hard to get documents wrong, what they say. the romney disputed was with the interpretation of the documents, which that is now what's going on in the political arena. >> that's really open and up for political debate, i think, and

legitimately so. >> when you guys and marty said we are not going to do a reaction, was there any reaction at that point from the romney campaign? >> no. no. i think that they understood that the story was, you know, factually correct in its fundamentals. i think that what they were upset about was the conclusion, the framing of the story, and the way that the story -- the take, our take on what these documents meant really what this means is i think it reopens the conversation about what level of responsibility mitt romney bears for actions of bain capital after 1999. he was ceo. he was president. his entire personal fortunate was tied up in bain capital. he was making money off of all of the deals. so what level of responsibility does he have for after 1999. we dent draw conclusions on that question but we think it is a valid question certainly. >> you guys, are you working on that now, now that the focus

is -- and mitt romney did the media interviews, a rounds of interviews on friday where he tried to sort of hold on to this sorted of narrow reed where the documents may say that but i didn't have any sort of effective control. have you guys now dug into that to determine whether he was being accurate or truthful in what he said on friday? >> i think what we are doing is we have been poving over the record of quotes more stuff continues to come out over what he said when. whether he was it was as leave of absence was that was talked about when the line started where he just drew this 1999 line and said i had nothing to do with it. it turned out it was in 2002 when in his gubernatorial race when shannon o'brien, the democratic candidate started slamming over over gst, a steel company in kansas city that went bankrupt and failed that was

when he started this conversation about i was no longer at bain capital. i was gone. prior to, that he had been much mushier about it and said it was a leave of absence for a certain time starting in 1999. and then during that subsequent two years, he made the decision while he was running the olympics he didn't want to come back to pain. then they had to start a long involved process of unwinding his investments, you know, private equity isn't like, you know, dish -- it's not look giebling where you own stock. the investment partnerships are very complicated. there are numerous partnerships, numerous funds. soft that takes, you know, months to unwind. that delayed it until another year or so mitt romney has refused to release, i think more than a year's worth of his tax

returns there is a theory because his tax returns would show that he was paying a 15% carried interest rate whereas most americans on their salary pay 28, 32 or 35. but there is an idea his tax returns would shed more light on how involved he was in bain in 2000, 2001, 2002. 2 his tax returns be able to fill in some gaps here? >> certainly they could. absolutely. the different income streams. so the private equity business has a variety of income streams and the executives get paid through a variety of income streams. some things you get are strilth management fees and those are reflected as actual personal until. if he is reporting that type of income from bain at that time, that would suggest he was being paid as an executive as opposed to the. investment gains someone who is a more passive investor would only again it could shed light but it's difficult to speculate. mitt romney's tax returns are

literally this thing. he is a very wealthy guy. he has a lot of funds. if you have $250 million, your money has to be stashed in a lot of different vehicles, funds. they have a variety of different reporting requirements for all of the different types of funds. it's very complex. so i think speculating about what's in mitt romney's tax returns is a dangerous business. >> chris roland the washington bureau chief for the boston globe. we will continue our conversation after this. we will talk a little bits about what's next on the boston globe and next for the romney campaign with the bill press show continues. >> heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the bill press show.

in the billionaires' purchase of our nation. >> and you think it doesn't affect you? think again. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ]

>> this is the bill press show live on your radio and current tv >> welcome back, everybody. david shuster sitting in special shoutout to everybody following the conversation on current.com/bpshow. talk with chris roland, the washington bureau chief for the boston globe. we were just talking a minute ago, chris during the break about journalism and how it's headed. you guys are one of the outfits still doing the traditional journalism playing it straight following the traditional sort of ethical rules and guidelines but it's a tough environment given there are a lot of the shouting and as you mentioned, the self-selection that news consumers now have. >> absolutely. you can look at the reaction of the story on thursday about the sec filings and what they showed about mitt romney and bain.

that took off on cable t.v. and blogs and it helped. all of those things help explode a story in some ways the reaction, but it also, you know there is such so much different self-selecting of which media you want to watch, if you want to watch a more ride wing media or left wing media. metro dailies like us, it's not a secret. we are a bit of an endangered species but we trying to play it solid down the middle, basing our reporting on documents and trying to, you know, uncover facts. and that's what we do. >> how do you handle it when people out there who are have strong opinions say you can't trust the boston globe or i get, schuster, you are a hack. how do you handle it? >> well, so certainly there is many people who think the boston globe is a left-leaning paper because of the evidently pages. it is a left-of-center

editorials page. it has been traditionally. that doesn't mean our news coverage is slanted either way. i think we, you know, try to hold people to account. we cover the robust politics of boston and massachusetts and the united states, the nation and here in the capitol, we have a six-person bureau. we cover it from, you know an ideological point of view. what are people saying? we do investigative stories. our reader ship in boston are political jumpingies. they love politics, the hew and cry of politics. we cover it from its entertaining as well. it's interesting. it's absorbing. we have tons and tons of political coverage in the globe. >> that's what we do well and we are proud of it. >> you have been covering mitt romney for a long time former governor of massachusetts. have you seen him evolve at all, or is his campaign significantly different from his gubernatorial campaign?

>> absolutely. i think, us, he is definitely in many respects, i would say he is a better candidate. one of the things i have noticed is the access to the candidate is a lot less than it was back in those days. he is much more carefully managed. we don't get to talk to him. he doesn't give many press connellferences. it's a tightly controlled campaign as obama's as well. you don't get easy access to the president either. that cuts both ways they did a good job of learning from their primary in 2008. that helped them win the primary this time around. i think in some respects they have been caught i haven't seen the evolution from primary mode to general election mode. the economy is doing poorly and

obama subpoena to blame. >> that's a smart message keeping them tony in the game right now. it's negative for the president there despite all of the different negative stuff going on for mitt romney, he is there in the hunt, you know, the polls, basically in a dead heat yet i think a lot of people on the republican side are looking for mitt romney. what is your message? what is your solution going to be? how are you going to lead the country if you are elected? that message hasn't punched through yet. >> it's interesting because we have said it over and over on various shows that to the extent that this eye lex is a referendum, the president is in trouble because of the economy. to the extent they can make this a choice between mitt romney and the president and get focus on who mitt romney is back with final moments with chris roland when the bill press show continues after this. >> on your radio, on t.v. the bill press show now on current tv.

bless america. >> that's way worse. way worse. hers is way worse. >> bill: there's the proof that i am a pitryiot -- patriot and michele bachmann is not. i'll be back with a parting shot. >> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." now on current tv.

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